Sunday, November 15, 2009

After AfriClassical posted an article about Samson Diamond playing for Nelson Mandela, Sophia Welz of the South Africa National Youth Orchestra alerted us to a subsequent award. In this article Samson Diamond speaks eloquently of having been "wholly liberated by music":

ArtLink.co.zaNational Arts Festival11/05/2009“Samson Diamond is an internationally acclaimed violinist with a string of awards to his name.His latest accolade, ushering in his return to South African stages, is the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Music 2010. 'This award is a wonderful validation and comes at a time when I am returning to South Africa to develop an audience from differing ends of the spectrum, both the classical and the light listener alike,' said Diamond. 'I must admit that it is truly unexpected, and wholly humbling that, having walked such a short path, I have been recognized.'

“Diamond matriculated from the National School of Arts in Johannesburg in 2001, with a distinction in Music. He then went on to study in Manchester, obtaining a Masters of Music Performance degree (with distinction) in 2007 from the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), where he also obtained a Bachelor of Music honours degree (first class, with distinction). He has studied violin under world-renowned teachers such as Philippe Graffin, Pauline Nobes, Richard Ireland and Rosemary Nalden.

"'I think of a musical journey as a stream of water. It flows from one point to the other, with no definite point of where it begins or ends,' said Diamond. 'Personally, I think that the awareness of my musical journey began when I felt wholly liberated by music and that elevated me to another sphere, where beauty transcended earthly struggles.'"